The Thornton Cemetery in Merrimack, New Hampshire is the
burial site of Dr. Matthew Thornton, signer of the Declaration of Independence
and many members of his family. Dr.
Thornton had five children, four grew to adulthood and had descendants. James Thornton lived across the street in the
tavern, and several of his children had unusually interesting lives. His son James Bonaparte Thornton, born 11 May
1800 in Merrimack, was a lawyer in New
Hampshire, as well as member of the House of Representatives in 1829 and 1830,
and was a comptroller of the US Treasury under President Jackson. He was appointed to be charge d’affaires at Callao
in Peru in 1836, but died there in
1838. He was married to Sophia Shepard
of Litchfield, Connecticut and had two children – Mary Parker Thornton and
James Shepard Thornton, naval officer in the Mexican War and the Civil War.
Sacred
to the memory of
HON. JAMES BONAPARTE THORNTON
Son of James & grandson
of Hon. Mathew Thornton,
Born at Thorntons Ferry
A.D. 1800 After honorably
filling various posts under
the state and national gov-
ernment, he died at Callao,
A.D. 1838, while representing
the United States as charge
D. affaires to Peru.
His remains were
remov-
ed to this spot by his son and
Interred A.D. 1871.
A memory of his merits
still lives
Where he once lived
and records his praise.
For more information on the Thornton Family:
The Family of James Thornton, Father of Hon. Matthew Thornton,
by Charles Thornton Adams, New York: 1905 – available to read online at
Archive.org
Matthew Thornton’s Family and Descendants at New Hampshire
Search Roots by Janice Webster Brown http://www.nh.searchroots.com/HillsboroughCo/Merrimack/familytrees3.html
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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/tombstone-tuesday-james-bonaparte.html
Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
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